August 10th Husker Football Practice Report

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska football team practiced for about 90 minutes in Memorial Stadium in full pads and helmets on Thursday morning.

Head Coach Mike Riley gave a brief injury update to the media following the shorter workout.

“We were doing a blocking drill the other day and Jaevon McQuitty hurt his knee and will need surgery, so he will be out for the year” Riley said. “These guys (Keyan Williams and JD Spielman) will be back but they pulled muscles so we are missing a couple slot backs right now too. JD [Spielman] is day to day and Keyan [Williams] probably two weeks away. He had a hamstring pull.”

Offensive Coordinator Danny Langsdorf spoke to the media following practice, commenting on today’s situational team periods.

“We are in a tough situation with the third and long deal and we didn’t execute great on that. I thought we did some good things coming out on that backed up area that we had. We had one turnover that was kind of ugly. It’s good work for us, we get a lot of different situational work. Whether we are in the high red zone or coming out or third down. All that stuff has been really good work for us.”

Coach Langsdorf also commented on junior quarterback Tanner Lee’s performance since the start of fall camp.

“Pretty good…there’s been a few things that we got to clean up,” Langsdorf said. “Making sure we know even from the quarterback center exchange, which really falls on the center and the quarterback, but he’s [Tanner Lee] a part of that battery. I think he’s done a nice job playing fast and making good decisions for the most part. There’s been a couple plays that we need some word on. Overall he’s been a consistent worker. He’s really steady, he’s the same guy every day. He comes to work ready to go, so I’ve been pleased with that.”

Langsdorf shared what improvements he would like to see from the offensive line before the season starts.

“Just the overall protection on the (stunts). That’s a big thing for us. A handle on all the different movement. The third down pressures are where they show up a lot of movement, a lot of guys kinda of milling around and giving you different looks. That’s easy to do in that 3-4, that’s what makes it tough is identification. We need some work there and then consistently running the ball, that’s always a focus. Making sure that we can get positive yards and making sure we are not giving up any free hitters. Overall consistency and protection and gaining ground on the run game.”

Nebraska closes out its second full week of preseason practice with workouts on Friday and Saturday before an off day on Sunday. Continue to check Huskers.com for updates throughout Nebraska’s preseason camp.